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--:-- John Bickley: It's a true pleasure to be with you this evening. Really a pleasure anywhere in New York without a subpoena for my appearance.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Donald Trump headlines a sold-out Al Smith charity dinner while Kamala Harris skips out on the iconic event. I mean, she did find time to appear on The View, Howard Stern, Colbert, and the longtime staple of campaigning, the Call Her Daddy podcast.
--:-- John Bickley: Why did Harris become the first major candidate in decades to refuse to attend?
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Friday, October 18th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: As Venezuelan gang Trend de Aragua spreads into more U.S. cities, officials sound the alarm over its efforts to recruit young members.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Criminality without consequence, that empowerment enables them to really just have the gall to commit these crimes.
--:-- John Bickley: And Elon Musk sues a California government agency after they deny a request for more SpaceX launches over his politics.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- John Bickley: American-made and designed for men who mean business, the Emerson multivitamin separates the men from the boys.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right now, take advantage of their fall sale. Visit responsiblemann.com and use code WIRE for 30% off plus an additional $9 off your first order.
--:-- John Bickley: That's responsiblemann.com, code WIRE.
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--:-- John Bickley: Kamala Harris broke a major campaign tradition Thursday night, skipping the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The event is put on by Catholic Charities and has hosted both major party candidates for nearly every presidential election going back 60 years.
--:-- John Bickley: Here now to discuss the event is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presta-Giacomo.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Hey, John. So this is a beloved event. It often earns candidates goodwill. They let down their guard, drop some jokes at each other's expense.
--:-- John Bickley: First, why did Harris decline to attend?
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Well, she said that it was because she needed to be on the campaign trail in battleground states.
--:-- John Bickley: That is a little surprising, though, because we're talking about one evening here that would have been definitely marked on our calendar for a while, and one that tends to make candidates look good.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: As Georgia noted, this dinner is a long-running tradition going back to the 1960 Nixon-Kennedy race.
--:-- John Bickley: It's a nonpartisan, glitzy, white-tie dinner that takes place in New York City, and it benefits various children's causes.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: With a couple of notable exceptions, the nominees of both major parties have always been happy to attend and speak.
--:-- John Bickley: So though Harris was not there, she was able to address the event by pre-recorded video.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: That video mostly consisted of former SNL character Mary Catherine Gallagher, played by Molly Shannon.
--:-- John Bickley: Does it bother you that that Trump guy insults you all the time? Because it really bothers my friends and me.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Oh, Mary Catherine, it's very important to always remember. You should never let anyone tell you who you are. You tell them who you are.
--:-- John Bickley: Haters gonna hate, hate, hate. Shake it off. Shake it off. Shake it off. Good for you, Mary.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: They're ready. Oh, yeah, okay.
--:-- John Bickley: Trump, however, was there in person per tradition, and he took some shots at Harris for skipping out.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: I understand the real reason that she's not here. She's hunting with her running mate, spending a lot of time hunting.
--:-- John Bickley: Instead of attending tonight, she's in Michigan receiving communion from Gretchen Whitmer.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Trump also had some other lines that really landed over the course of the evening.
--:-- John Bickley: Here's some of that.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Tradition hauls that I'm supposed to tell a few self-deprecating jokes this evening. So here it goes. Nope, I've got nothing.
--:-- John Bickley: I guess I just don't see the point of taking shots at myself when other people have been shooting at me for a hell of a long time and they shoot.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: There's a group called White Dudes for Harris. Have you seen this? White Dudes for Harris.
--:-- John Bickley: But I'm not worried about them at all because their wives and their wives' lovers are all voting for me.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: So Trump really commanding the stage there and getting big laughs and instantly viral clips.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, really. Trump at his comedic best, I think it's safe to say.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Right. Now, as for Harris, was this a mistake not attending this event?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, if nothing else, she hasn't done herself any favors with Catholics, and she's already struggling with that particular demographic.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Just a few days ago, a National Catholic Reporter poll found that about half of Catholics who live in swing states say they support Trump.
--:-- John Bickley: Only 45 percent say they're backing Harris.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Comedian Jim Gaffigan, who hosted the event, highlighted the importance of this voting bloc in his own job at the VP last night.
--:-- John Bickley: Catholics will be a key demographic in every battleground state.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: I'm sorry, why is Vice President Harris not here? This is a room full of Catholics and Jews in New York City.
--:-- John Bickley: This is a layup for the Democratic nominee.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: The Catholic vote is trending particularly heavy for Trump in Wisconsin, where he's up a whopping 18 points.
--:-- John Bickley: In Michigan, he's up by 12.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Now, a recent controversy that involved Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer seeming to mock the Eucharist while wearing a Harris Walls hat probably didn't help her there.
--:-- John Bickley: As we played earlier, Trump made reference to that video.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Most importantly, many pro-life Catholics believe that the Biden-Harris administration has been incredibly hostile to them, prosecuting some pro-life activists under the FACE Act and even putting them behind bars.
--:-- John Bickley: Harris has also supported legislation like the Equality Act.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has warned that that legislation would erase conscience protections for religious doctors and hospitals when it comes to performing abortions.
--:-- John Bickley: All right. So at the very least, a missed opportunity to build bridges here for the Harris campaign.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Thanks for reporting.
--:-- John Bickley: You're welcome, Amanda.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: That's shopify.com slash morningwire.
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--:-- John Bickley: The Venezuelan gang Trend de Aragua's notoriety in the U.S. has grown alongside the list of criminal conduct it's been associated with.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Recent headlines show the gang-related activity has spread to major cities in Texas and New York.
--:-- John Bickley: Here to talk about the Venezuelan gang is Daily Reporter Tim Pierce.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Hey, John. So a lot of reports about this gang activities across the U.S.
--:-- John Bickley: First, what is happening in New York City?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Well, to start, police have arrested a 15-year-old Venezuelan at least 10 times in the last few months.
--:-- John Bickley: That's according to the New York Post. This teen is reportedly in a youth street gang known as Los Diablos, or Little Devils, of 42nd Street.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The group is a subset of Trend de Aragua that has been used to recruit children and minors into gang crime.
--:-- John Bickley: Here's Jason Savino, the assistant chief at the NYPD Detective Bureau, talking about the youth gang on Good Day New York.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Right now, what we have, I like to call a perfect storm of sorts, where we have individuals tremendously brazen, absolutely ruthless, individuals that have committed a multitude of crimes with basically no repercussions.
--:-- John Bickley: So what started out as a robbery crew, 20 individuals arrested for upwards of 50 robberies.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And out of those 20 individuals, every single one of them is on the streets today.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, this 15-year-old in particular entered the U.S. with his family in May 2023 and is scheduled for an immigration hearing next month.
--:-- Tim Pierce: He's now being held by law enforcement after he allegedly tried to rob a man at knife point with an accomplice.
--:-- John Bickley: But law enforcement sources told The Post that this kid will likely be back on the street soon because of New York's progressive bail policies.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So it seems like Trend de Aragua has built sort of a feeder gang in New York at this point.
--:-- John Bickley: Right. That's alarmed the NYPD because they say it's the first time that they've been aware of any sort of expansive organization within the gang.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here's Savino again.
--:-- John Bickley: Formerly, it was kind of scattered all over the place. But now we're seeing that structure where there's actually kickups, where people are recruiting these younger members as young as 11.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And they've been described in some of these robbery incidents as young as eight years old.
--:-- John Bickley: And when they're arrested, like I said, virtually no repercussions.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Police are also worried about recent posts they've seen from Los Diablos calling out a rival gang, Latin Kings.
--:-- John Bickley: We do believe there's a spillover from Venezuela where a homicide did occur.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So this could be the continued beef from Venezuela. Tremendously concerning, but that could ignite the fire.
--:-- John Bickley: We're on top of it and we'll certainly prevent it.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Certainly concerning, especially following the reports we've seen out of Colorado.
--:-- John Bickley: Where else do we know that Trend de Aragua is active?
--:-- Tim Pierce: According to the Daily Mail, a similar scene to that in Aurora, Colorado, is playing out in San Antonio, Texas as well.
--:-- John Bickley: Local police there recently raided an apartment building and arrested 19 people.
--:-- Tim Pierce: At least four of them have been identified as members of Trend de Aragua.
--:-- John Bickley: The gang had been squatting at the apartment complex for about half a year before that bust, but it has also reportedly taken over at least three other rental properties in the area.
--:-- Tim Pierce: From those spaces, the gang has been involved in all manner of crimes, from extortion to drug dealing to prostitution and even child sex trafficking.
--:-- John Bickley: So while outlets such as ABC News have tried to downplay Trend de Aragua's footprint, the gang does seem to be building a national network and importing its gang rivalries as well.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah, very, very troubling.
--:-- John Bickley: Tim, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks for having me.
--:-- John Bickley: SpaceX founder Elon Musk has sued California officials who specifically cited his politics in their decision to reject more rocket launches by the private company.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Alordi is here with the details.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Hi, Georgia. Yes, so Musk filed the suit against the California Coastal Commission in federal court on Tuesday.
--:-- John Bickley: It's in response to the commission's October 10th hearing, where commissioners were very clear that they disliked Musk's political stances and voted 6 to reject more SpaceX rocket launches.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Carol Hart, the commission chair, drawing a distinction between SpaceX and other companies based on the political views of the CEO.
--:-- John Bickley: Essentially saying any other company would be fine.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: But here we're dealing with a company that is the head of which has aggressively injected himself into the presidential race and made it clear what his point of view is.
--:-- John Bickley: It's not the other companies. This is about SpaceX increasing their launches.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Hart wasn't the only one making similar comments.
--:-- John Bickley: Commissioner Mike Wilson also complained about Musk's campaign stop with Trump.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Just last week, that person was speaking about political retribution on a national stage.
--:-- John Bickley: And it was very glib. But yet he was standing next to a person, a candidate that openly promotes and is working to normalize that language.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: And we have to push back against that.
--:-- John Bickley: Another member of the commission took aim at Musk's comments about FEMA.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Here's Gretchen Newsome.
--:-- John Bickley: Right now, Elon Musk is hopping about the country, spewing and tweeting political falsehoods and attacking FEMA while claiming his desire to help the hurricane victims.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: So very critical of Musk there and specifically citing his politics.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, the California Coastal Commission is a government agency. So is it actually legal for them to be openly partisan?
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Right, that's the crux of the whole suit.
--:-- John Bickley: The commission is responsible for overseeing the land and water of California's coastline, and it's not supposed to be partisan.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: However, Musk's lawsuit argues that the political nature of the decision infringes on his First Amendment rights, and he accuses them of weaponizing their regulatory power over his company.
--:-- John Bickley: Musk took to X to respond.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: He said they have one job, take care of the California coast, and said it's, quote, illegal for them to make decisions based on what they mostly wrongly think are my politics.
--:-- John Bickley: He also said he has done, quote, more to advance sustainable energy and help the environment than maybe anyone ever, which is not exactly a far-right position.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: By the way, the request for more SpaceX rocket launches was actually made by the U.S. Space Force.
--:-- John Bickley: The agency asked that SpaceX be allowed to launch 14 more Falcon 9 rockets a year from Vandenberg Space Force Base, so it wasn't even Musk initiating the request.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Now, this also comes as Musk is being targeted from across the pond by the EU.
--:-- John Bickley: The EU is warning that it could take into account the revenue from Musk's other companies when calculating fines against X for content moderation violations.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Of course, this would hugely increased the fines since Musk owns several other successful companies, including SpaceX.
--:-- John Bickley: The EU has been cracking down on what it views as disinformation, and Musk has been pushing back in a variety of ways.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: He's also urging people to vote against those who promote censorship and for Donald Trump.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, that'll be a very interesting lawsuit to watch.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Mairead, thanks for reporting.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks, Georgia.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more news you need to know.
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